The euro zone had a wider than expected trade deficit in January as seasonally adjusted exports sank more than 10 per cent from December, setting the currency area on course for a sharp drop in first-quarter GDP.
The unadjusted trade deficit in the 16 countries using the euro in January was €10.5 billion against a downwardly revised gap of €1.7 billion euros in December, the Eurostat European Union statistics office said today.
Seasonally adjusted exports fell 10.7 per cent and imports by 7.3 per cent in January, compared with December 2008.
On an unadjusted basis, imports sank 23 per cent in January year-on-year while exports plunged 24 per cent, Eurostat said.
Economists have blamed falling imports on shrinking domestic demand as the euro zone sinks deeper into its first recession.
Declining exports are seen as a result of falling demand caused by the global slowdown.
The euro zone's trade deficit last year with oil exporter Russia widened to €35.5 billion from €30.8 billion in 2007, the data showed. Against China, it expanded to €117.8 billion from 2007's €111.0 billion.
The trade surplus against the euro zone's biggest trading partner, Britain, fell to €55.4 billion in 2008 from €60.2 billion in 2007, while that with the United States dropped to €49.3 billion from €63.4 billion.
Reuters